Wilmington Police were on the move Thursday night in the 1100 block of Rodney Street handing out flyers, notifying residents of the brutal attack of a female jogger.
"It's just terrible, I couldn't believe that something like this would happen in our neighborhood, just a couple of houses down from us," said Leanne Bonarigo.
It was a blitz attack just after 5:30pm Wednesday night. The woman, who is new to the area, says the man hit her, dragged her into an alleyway and sexually assaulted her.
"This is the first incident we've had so we wanted to get out in the neighborhood and let people know immediately to just be aware of their surroundings, especially if they're out jogging," said Captain Nancy Dietz.
The victim survived, but her neighbors who know the low crime community says the incident has definitely put them on edge.
"I'm always looking around to see if anybody's here or lurking in the shadows if I can, and I always try to get into the house as fast as I can," said Bonarigo.
"I myself am a single parent with four children. We have a lot of young people, young women who run around jogging, and it's very scary to know that this could happen in our neighborhood," said Stacy Cerasol.
Police describe the suspect as a 30 to 45-year-old white male, about 5'10 to 6' tall. He was wearing a black scarf, black sweater and black pants.
The neighborhood is made up of mostly private homes, apartments and professional offices. Residents and visitors say they generally feel safe in this Wilmington neighborhood and were surprised to hear of the assault.
After the door to door effort by the police, neighbors say they noticed an increase in police patrol on the street.
"Oh I think it's great absolutely," said John Bonarigo. "It is how it should be, I think we all need to be involved with whatever goes on."
Since police only have a vague description of the attacker, they need leads, and they are asking anyone who may have been in the area or have information regarding this incident to contact Detective Ron Mullin at 302-576-3634 or the main police line at 302-654-5151
